English: Plant–microbe partnership

(A) Plants are colonized initially by microbes originating from the seed. This seed-derived microbiota is complemented and partly substituted gradually by rhizosphere microorganisms migrating into the plant via roots. Plant–microbe partnerships occur at different levels of complexity.
(B) The plant interacts with single organisms. It responds to the presence of a microbe and its metabolites and vice versa the microbe is affected by the plant environment and reacts to plant metabolism and physiology.
(C) The plant interacts with the microbiota in the soil and rhizosphere. Plant exudates attract microbes in the soil thereby directing a subset of them to the root zone. In turn, the activity of the microbiota in the root zone has strong impact on plant growth and health.

(D) The microorganisms within the root and rhizosphere microbiota dynamically interact with each other and the microbiota in the root.